A Label-free Extracellular-vesicle Automated Purification System (LEAP System) - PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small lipid bilayer particles secreted by most cell types, which encapsulates
biomolecules including lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids from parent cells. Profiling of EV-derived biomarkers
provides a promising approach for early diagnoses and prognosis of various diseases. Currently, one of the
primary hindrances to the implementation and usage of EVs is lack of a robust method for convenient and high-
speed isolation of EVs with high yield and purity. A number of recent publications mentioned that developing
efficient and reliable isolation methods is urgent to further advance in this field. There is a strong desire to explore
innovated technologies for better performance of EV isolation in terms of throughput, purity, yield, speed,
robustness, and cost. To overcome these challenges, WellSIM Biomedical Technologies proposes to develop,
optimize, and validate a Label-free Extracellular-vesicle Automated Purification System (LEAP System) for EV
isolation from bodily fluids (e.g., plasma and urine) with excellent performance. Based on our current prototype
which has shown competitive EV yield, purity, and isolation efficiency, we will further improve the processing
speed, sample volume load, and throughput by redesigning and optimizing the System. Our preliminary studies
support that, with the proposed improvement, we can expect to simultaneously isolate EVs from up to 6 plasma
samples (>2 mL) within 1 hr with purity and yield outperform other EV isolation methods. After system upgrade
and optimization, we will comprehensively validate our next-generation platform with cell culture medium, urine,
and plasma in terms of yield, purity, speed, and processing volume. Our new platform will directly address the
current bottlenecks, and thus provide an advanced EV purification tool for EV-based life science and precision
medicine.
